Ah, email is always the highlight of prepration day--i love my family!! Thank you thank you THANK YOU for writing!! It means the worrrrrrrrrrrld!
I should probably apologize for being so incredibly distressed last week. Ha. my apologies. But! As ALWAYS, Heavenly Father looooves to bless us, and He has continued to pouuuuur out blessings upon us! My goodness! Last night one of our less actives who is so less active she's basically an investigator called US to set up an appointment. Missionaries have been working with her for so long to try and get her back to church. She is such an incredible lady, but lazy! We've stuck with her though, and I think it was maybe the 26th or 27th time that she wasn't home for our appointments/ was just leaving when she said, "wow, you girls are really serious about this huh? thank you for being so persistant...i PROMISE i'll read." and then yesterday she called! we're going over tomorrow. milagro! THEN--listen closely and know that i do not lie--WE ADDED A NEW INVESTIGATOR LAST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! ha. such an accomplishment. I don't remember when it was, but we recently (after our fast) received a random ("there's that word again!")phone call from elders who just happened to find five names of people who live in our area (WE NEVER GET REFERRALS!!!)... that was a miracle in and of itself... but so we went and tried to contact one of them last night and ummm yeah. he let us in. we talked. we had a LEGIT convo and his faith wowed us. he's got a whole family who also needs salvation. um yeah. HUGE tm. we turned the corner from his door and started jumping and screaming silently. needless to say we treated ourselves to ice cream afterwards. But the biggest milagro of them all is that hermano chavez had a complete change of heart. wow. unbelievable. remember my devastation on sunday when he didn't come to church after seven consecutive sundays? and he hung up on us and wouldn't answer the phone and told everyone he was done with us? tragic. well, turns out he went to church last week to some other church and just... well, he missed our church. He knows it's true. His spirit likes the feeling of the truth--and that's only found in the true church! ha! long story short, we ended up having a lesson with him and his owner (his member friend) and hno chavez told us that people asked him questions and he answered... aka he did missionary work. straight up! he told them we don't worship joseph smith, he told them about the book of mormon.. about missionaries..... UNREAL. best of all was when he said, "maybe i won't take a year to get baptized. maybe in a month or two." bottom line: Heavenly Father answers prayers. Heavenly Father sees sacrifices--even skipping some meals to subject our flesh to the spirit to be taught from on high.
I am so grateful for the gospel.
on sunday night we had a little bit of time before we needed to head home, so we went to check out one of the other referrals we received. :) sunday was a day fullllllllll of rejection, and, as we searched for our referral, my mind sort of wandered... we were right by the freeway and there were tons of apartments and houses all lit up, and i just thought, "where are they? where are the people who are ready?" Everyone needs the gospel. Everyone needs what we have. Everyone is fighting and struggling, but they could be relieved if they just had the hope in Christ that we have. I dont' know where they are. I don't know how to find them. But i know that Heavenly Father does. He knows EXACTLY where they are and EXACTLY when they will be ready to receive us. What a comforting feeling that was for me to just feel that calm assurance from my father that He's perfectly aware of these people and that if I just do my part to be led to them... we'll get em.
I contniue to grow more and more grateful to be a missionary. everyday. everyday! I love being able to put my tag and on and be PROUD of it... sometimes I feel like a saleswoman, but I have NO shame because i'm not selling knives anymore... we're offering SALVATION!!!! It is beautiful. This is hands down the best time of my life and I am so thankful to be here.
A few more things I'm proud of.
LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i often feel like the minority, and let's be honest, i leave a lot of appointments feeling reeeeeeeeeeal sad because i don't understand and i don't have much to contribute to the conversations about mexico this and that. But then i step back for one second and remember all my blessings and freedoms, and how LUCKY i am to have been raised in a land of opportunity... and that I SPEAK ENGLISH! aha! i love mexico, and i think mexican blood runs through my veins, but i am so grateful to be an american.
Also, this morning I legitimately caught myself thinking that i was proud to be a california missionary. i told talley omalley before i got my call that i did NOT want to serve in california... but wow. i take that back! it's weird.... i can't really explain all the changes that i'm seeing in myself, but that's one of them... my heart has changed. I AM PROUD TO BE A CALIFORNIAN MISSIONARY!!!
I AM ALSO PROUD TO BE A CHRISTENSEN! i love my family! love love love! i am praying for each of you! i hope that conference is BOMB and that you aaaaaaaaaaah enjoy the goeffra for me!!!!!!!!!!
hermana christensen
mormon.org
joan! my sweetness i love that i've gotten so many photos of you! you look beautiful! stay strong!!! i'm praying for you!
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